Bikers Roar, Students Pour Into Daytona Beach

DAYTONA BEACH — Motorcycle madness, an annual fever that turns the city into a sea of black leather and rumbling machines, strikes this weekend as thousands of bikers from across the country pour in.

As Motorcycle Week 1986 roars off to a start today, with the Championship Cup amateur road race at Daytona International Speedway, another group of thrill-seekers heads for the beach.

About 10,000 college students -- mostly from Canada, Michigan and Indiana -- have been arriving for spring break since mid-February. By the first week in April, about 350,000 young people are expected to migrate to Daytona for sun, beer, sex, music and parties. They will spend about $70 million.

The early part of spring break, which started last week, overlaps with the biker bash. The two events are expected to draw more than 100,000 visitors this week, creating a mishmash of leather, denim, chrome, suntan oil, shorts and bikinis.

The overlap will peak March 9 with the 45th Daytona 200 Motorcycle classic for superbikes, billed as the nation's biggest cycle race. More than 200 of the nation's classiest customized bikes will be on display at the Broadwalk on Saturday.

Auto race fans and bikers spend about $112 million in the Daytona Beach area from January through March, according to The Chamber, Daytona Beach- Halifax Area.

Estimates of the number of bikers expected to pack the city this week vary. Glenn Hastings of the chamber predicted the 1986 biker crowd will be smaller than the 100,000 from last year. Hastings expects 50,000 to 60,000, based on advance motel bookings and other economic indicators.

''There doesn't seem to be as much interest as there has been in the past,'' Hastings said.

Bikers and merchants disagree. Karl Smith, a T-shirt merchant known as Big Daddy Rat, predicted the biggest bike week ever. ''If there aren't over 150,000 people in town this week I'll be surprised.''

Smith said the chamber is playing down bike week because it wants to change the sleazy image of the Main Street-State Road A1A area, where the bikers converge.

Biker Bill Huff said he expects a record crowd if the weather is good. Huff, treasurer of the Daytona Beach branch of ABATE of Florida Inc., said bikers have been making camping reservations since November. Many bikers stay at a campground in Samsula across from the New Smyrna Speedway.

ABATE, A Brotherhood Against Totalitarian Enactment, is opposed to a state law requiring bikers to wear helemts.

Bitter over Gov. Bob Graham's veto of a bill that would have repealed the law, ABATE is staging a protest. On Saturday, a group of bikers will ride without helmets for 15 miles from the Samsula campground and back. Last year about 1,500 bikers participated.

After the bikers roar out of town, spring break will kick into high gear. The last two weeks of March will be the busiest, featuring concerts at the bandshell by rock groups Starship, John Cafferty, Molly Hatchett, Cheap Trick, Oingo Boingo and comedian Joe Piscopo.

Activities range from best bodies, miniskirt, bikini and leg contests to Hawaiian luaus. Thousands of free T-shirts, posters and other promotional items will be handed out by representatives of dozens of beer, soft drink, suntan oil and cigarette companies. Free food will be offered, and live music will blare from motel pool decks and bars.

One of the catchiest gimmicks will be a 200-foot ski slope made of crushed ice sponsored by Anheuser-Busch.

Some of the events will be filmed live by MTV, the music television rock- pop video channel, which is planning to cover spring break in Daytona Beach March 19-26.

Government and business leaders are determined to make spring break a safe event in 1986. Members of the Motel-Hotel Association of the Greater Daytona Beach Area have adopted an ethics code that students must sign when checking in.

Chuck Penrod, owner of The Plaza, has bolted doors to his hotel balconies to prevent students from falling from them. Three students died in falls last year in Daytona Beach. All had been drinking.

The National Collegiate Sports Festival, a group of young promoters, will organize sporting events between colleges as an alternative to beer-drinking parties.

This spring break the new drinking age, changed last year from 19 to 21, will be in effect. Those who were 19 when the law passed, with birthdates on or before June 30, 1966, will be allowed to drink.

The Florida Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco is increasing the number of agents in Daytona Beach during spring break to crack down on violators. The extra agents will try to catch bars, restaurants, liquor stores and convenience stores that sell alcoholic beverages to underage students. Both the consumer and the seller could be charged.

Daytona Beach police will be out in force during the month. The department joined with the Volusia County Sheriff's Office to form two special teams. One squad will concentrate on diffusing troublesome situations during bike week, and the other will focus on the spring break crowd.

Investigators from state, federal and local law enforcement agencies who specialize in motorcycle gangs will work undercover this week. Though prepared, police don't expect any serious trouble from the biker crowd. During the last few years the notorious biker gangs, such as the Hell's Angels, the Outlaws and the Pagans, have stayed out of the public eye, police say.

Most bikers have complied with a police request not to display their colors, the gang insignia worn on their jackets, to avoid inflaming rival gangs.